H
arry and Meghan are due to marry at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on the 19th of May. Meghan Markle is well known as the beautiful Rachel (coincidentally her actual first name) in the legal TV series Suits. Amusingly enough Harry is reported to have mentioned her role in the series as his ideal woman, well before he even met her.
We’re all pretty acquainted with Prince Harry, but Meghan is a very interesting person in her own right. At 36, she is three years older than Harry with a high profile acting career and admired for her calligraphy skills and her own successful lifestyle blog, styled as The Tig.
Markle was born and raised in Los Angeles and educated at private schools, beginning at Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse California, then the Immaculate Heart High School. Her father Thomas is a lighting director who lives in Mexico and has won an Emmy for his work, while her mother Doria is a social worker and Yoga instructor, though they divorced when Meghan was six years old.
It has been well reported that her mother is descended from Africans enslaved in Georgia and her father from Dutch, English and Irish settlers. Less known is that Harry and Meghan share a 15th century ancestor Ralph Bowes, a High Sheriff of County Durham whose family seat was Streatlam Castle. So she is actually a distant cousin of Harry’s, though many times removed, which certainly follows traditional royal marriage customs.
Much vitriol was directed at her by the British tabloids for her mixed ancestry but these qualities only make her more interesting and capable to handle the demands of both royal duties and the constant attention they will receive from popular media. I’m deliberately avoiding use of the word “mixed race”, as we are all part of the human race, minor differences just make the world more interesting, not different species. Her communication skills and her genuine passion for supporting women’s issues will make her and Prince Harry a very admirable match.
One of the things that brought Harry and Meghan together was their shared love of charity work. She became an ambassador for World Vision in 2016 after travelling to Rwanda to help with a new clean water pipeline. She was also a counsellor for One Young World, speaking at the 2014 and 2016 annual summit. She visited India to raise awareness of the treatment of women and worked with the United Nations Entity for gender equality.
She’s good friends with Serena Williams and often goes to watch her play and also with stylist Jessica Mulroney who is married to Ben, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. She is often spotted with Justin Trudeau, the current Canadian prime Minister, which makes sense when you realise the series Suits was filmed in Canada. She is also close to Markus Anderson, the Soho House director, and very close to fellow Suits actor Abigail Spencer.
Markle is perfectly qualified for the role she will take on as ambassador for the Royal Family, Britain and the charitable causes both her and Prince Harry already ardently support. Both have known family tribulations and worked hard in their chosen professions, so they will support each other well, and their mutual love and admiration is very clear in their public engagements so far.
They will both be given some new titles once married, Harry will probably becomes the Duke of Sussex and Meghan would be HRH the Duchess of Sussex. After the wedding, they will apparently live at Nottingham Cottage in London, on the grounds of Kensington Palace and we wish them every happiness for the future.
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